As soon as I saw these, I fell in love. The fact that I got 46 pieces for $48 was icing on the cake. (Each piece was 99 cents ... except the high-priced platter and serving bowl, which were $1.99 each.)
The cherry hutch in our dining room contains some of the best pieces of our Lu-Ray Pastels dinnerware ... which I have been collecting pretty much since we got married in 1980. I love the colors, but the mixture of colors and shapes has seemed a bit chaotic to me lately.
Tucked in among the dishes, you can see some of my favorite little things.
A metal cricket given to me by my grandmother, and a small vintage chalk mouse figure.
An American Girl Bitty Bear sits in an egg cup.
This ceramic moose is my favorite souvenir from our trip to Alaska last summer.
Crystal crab placecard holders support a small porcelain doll, and a tiny ceramic cat.
The new dishes will be perfect in the hutch, and I can move the Lu-Ray to the glass-fronted cabinets in the kitchen ... some of which were holding my Moss Rose tea and luncheon set. I love this set because it is so representative of the time in which it was made. In addition to cups and saucers, creamer and sugar bowl, and small plates, the set includes a cigarette lighter and individual small ashtrays for each place setting.
Yesterday morning was spent moving things around between the hutch, the kitchen cabinets, and storage in a cupboard in the basement. First step, remove the Lu-Ray from the hutch. As I emptied the hutch, I found things that I had stashed in there.
The demitasse sugar bowl had a handful of assorted change
The Colonial-era cannonball I found earlier this year was in the yellow teapot.
(Click HERE to see how I found it.)
With the Lu-Ray out of there, it was a simple matter to arrange the new dishes in the hutch.
... and I put back most of my 'treasures', and a few smaller pieces of blue Lu-Ray.
I swear, the cannonball looks like a giant cocoa-dusted truffle.
Arranging the Lu-Ray in the kitchen was a bit more involved. I stacked, and rearranged, and fiddled, and I finally came up with an arrangement that I like.
The pitchers in the top cabinets are sitting on saucers and berry bowls to raise them up enough so they display nicely when the doors are closed.
Four colors, four doors, four pitchers ... perfect!
I have lots more Lu-Ray stored away ... I think I could almost supply the dinnerware for an entire State Dinner at the White House. As I go through things later, I will probably bring in a few more pieces to add some height and interest to the blue casserole in the center cabinet.
What started at Goodwill as an impulse purchase of dishes I really didn't need has turned into a morning's worth of work that really did make things look a LOT better.
Eventually, inspiration will strike and I will think of a good place to display the tea set. Until then, it's safely tucked away.
Sharing this at Sherry's Open House Party.
